johnson



(M man G. J. JOHNSON.

MAILING CASE. No. 488,287. l Patented Sept.Y 27, 1892.

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f2] @L4-Wag UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

GUSTAVUS J. JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHICAGOMAILING CASE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MAILI NG-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 483,287, datedSeptember 27, 1892.

Application liled May 16, 1892. Serial No. 433,169. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, GUs'rAvus J. JOHNSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inMailing-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cases designed for the transmission of liquidsthrough the mails, and involves certain improvements upon themailing-case patented to me January 5, 1892, by United States LettersPatent N o. 466,688.

The objects of my present invention are to render the manufacture of thecase more convenient and economical, to provide a lighter constructionand more compact form of case, to guard against possibility of leakageas an incident to shrinkage of the case, and to further guard againstthe escape of acids should a defective vial containing an acid becomebroken within the mailing-case.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends I provide thecase with a comparatively thin screw cap of metal or analogous material,and provide a separatelyformed plunger, which is secured to such cap,and which when thus secured subserves the purpose of the plungerembodied in my said Letters Patent. By this arrangement I can provide acap which is much thinner, lighter, and less bulky than a Wooden cap,and which can be applied to the Wooden or analogous body so that itsannular threaded flange portion shall be flush with the cylindricperimeter of the body of the case. The provision of a separately-madeplunger also enables me to avoid the expense and difficulty attendingthe production of a wooden cap having the plunger integral therewith andhaving its annular flange portion threaded, so as to screw upon the bodyof the case, and also permits me to provide a thin metallic cap having aplunger of wood or analogous light material.

As a matter of further improvement, I provide upon the inner side of thebottom of the case a layer of some suitable tough pitchy compositionwhich will not crack in the event of the cracking of the end oi' thecase by reason of shrinkage, and hence While the interior of theiinished case can be lined with a coating oli' parafine, such lining canbe applied after the pitchy composition has been put in place.

For general purposes I propose using Within the case a packing ofsawdust, as in my said patent; but as a matter of further improvement Isubstitute for the same a packing of powdered silicate of inagnesia,where the vial to be 1nailed"""`c``1itaiiis an acid, and hence shouldthe vial become broken the packing of silicate of magnesia will not beattacked and destroyed, but will absorb and hold the acid.

In the accompanyingdrawings,Figure l represents in side elevation amailing-case constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2represents a section taken centrally and longitudinally through the caseand its cap, the said two parts being separated for convenience ofillustration. Fig. Srepresents 7o a section taken centrally andlongitudinally through the case containing a vial embedded in a packingof powdered silicate of magnesia.

The body A of the case may be of wood or analogous light material,although for the sake of strength andlightness the employment of Wood asa material will be found desirable. It is obvious,ho\vever, that itcouldbe molded of papiermach or that it could be made of wood pulp suitablymolded. The cap B is made of sheet metal, such as sheet-brass, zinc, orother metal or metallic composition or analogous substance, which whenmade into sheet form will possess substantially the strength of sheetmetal. The flange portion b of the cap is threaded and adapted to screwupon the externally-threaded end portion ct of the body of the case, andwhen so applied the said flange portion ot' the cap will lie flush Withthe perimeter of the body of the case, 9o as illustrated in Figs. l and3.

The plunger C can be made of wood or analogous light material and ismade separate from the cap. The plunger is adapted to t within the capand can be secured thereto in 95 any suitable way, a simple andpreferred arrangement being to secure the plunger tothe cap by a rivetor screw D. The plunger is provided with an oftset,in which apackingring E can be tted, so that when the cap is Ico applied and theplunger brought within the body of the case the packing-ring can beforced upon the end of the body of the case, as illustrated in Fig. 3.With reference to the construction thus far described it will be seenthat the body of the case can be made of a suitably-light material-suchas Wood, wood pulp, or papier-mach--and of sufficient thickness toinsure strength, and that the cover may be of thin sheet metal ormetallic or equivalent composition, whereby it can be readily andeconomically formed and threaded; also, that the plunger can be easilyand economically made and readily applied to the cap, and that whenVthus applied it will press and stiffen the cap.

Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that when the cap is screwed uponthe body of the case the entire cap will be reinforced internally, thereinforcing portions being the body of the case, the compressedpacking-ring, and the plunger, which latter entirely fills one endportion of the cap.

Where the case is made of wood it will Sometimes crack at its end a byreason of the shrinkage of the wood, and where such occurs a possibleoutlay for the escape of liquid from an accidentally-broken vial isafforded, notwithstanding the fact that the interior of the case may becoated with parafiine. In order, therefore, to guard against suchaccident, I provide within the bottom of the case a tough and pliableand ductile pitchy layer G, which will not crack should any crackoccurin the bottom of the case. A good composition for such purpose canbe made of pine pitch, two parts; beeswax, four parts; resin, eightparts, and oxide of iron one part. I do not confine myself, however, tothese exact proportions, nor do I confine myself to these exactingredients, although I consider such composition a matter of specialimprovement. This composition can be arranged to form a layer upon thebottom of the case, and the interior of the case can then be providedwith a coating of paraiiine or the like. The said layer Gr, however, isunderstood to consist of a body of tough and ductile or pliable pitchymaterial, which will not harden and contract and which in the eventwhich enters the body of the case and also one side of the packingringcan also be coated with a paraffine coating, the paraffine within thebody of the case being indicated by the letter I and the coating in thecap being indicated by the letter K.

It will be observed that where I use a packing II of a substance whichwill Withstand the attack of an acid the vial can be arranged ,withinthe same, as in Fig. 3, and that the packing can be compacted by theplunger when the cap is screwed upon the body of the case.

Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. A mailing-case comprising the thincap adapted to screw upon the body of the case and the separately-formedplunger arranged within and secured to the cap, substantially as setforth.

2. A mailing-case containing within its bot tom a ductile layer of toughpitchy substance, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A mailing-casecontaining a body of pack ing of powdered silicate ofmagnesia or like silicate, said layer being filled within the case aboutthe vial or receptacle to be mailed, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. A mailing-case comprisinga wooden body A,a sheet-metal cap B, and awooden plunger O, arranged Within and secured to the cap, substantiallyas described. l

GUSTAVUS J. JOHNSON.

Witnesses: W. D. MIDDLETON,

CHAs. G. PAGE.

